2017 July-August

The Gainesville Iguana A progressive newsletter and events calendar July/August, 2017 Vol. 31, Issue 7/8 The ‘Say YES to Second Chances’ campaign needs you! Get Voting Restoration Amendment on 2018 ballot Volunteers from both Putnam and Alachua counties gather on June 13 at Hammock Hall in Palatka at the Putnam County Say YES to Second Chances group meeting to brainstorm ideas . From left to right, Betsy Freeman, Julie Thaler, Fran Rossano, Margaret Ellington, Pat Brady, Jessica Arnold, and Brenda Bivins . Photo courtesy of Heidi Harris . By Heidi Harris 28,808 petitions. We have a good start, and the momentum is building as residents of The Say YES to Second Chances initiative Noam Chomsky: has entered the home stretch for inclusion Gainesville, Hawthorne, Palatka, Inter- on the 2018 ballot, and Floridians from all lachen, Alachua and other communities are On Trump and the walks of life are mobilizing in support. Al- joining together to gather signatures. most 800,000 signed petitions are required, One of our newest volunteers, Beverly from State of the Union proportionately represented statewide. The Hawthorne, has single-handedly collected This interview appeared in the July 5 3rd Congressional District, which includes over 250 signed petitions within a five day edition of The New York Times, breaking Alachua County, must submit a total of stretch. Jess and Christine, a dynamic hus- a decades-long mainstream media band and wife team in Gainesville, have blackout of Noam Chomsky . See more at INSIDE ... gathered over 2,700. There are hundreds of nytimes .com . volunteers, working in small teams or indi- From the Publisher . 3 vidually, gathering signatures at events of Over the past few months, as the disturb- Event Calendar . 12–13 all sizes, in faith groups, in the work place, ing prospect of a Trump administration Oral History . .20-21 among family gatherings, and in multiple became a disturbing reality, I decided to Directory . 21-23 public places throughout their neighbor- reach out to Noam Chomsky, the philoso- Editors’ Picks . 24 hoods and townships. The human toll of pher whose writing, speaking and activ- See CAMPAIGN, p. 19 See CHOMSKY, p. 16 From the publisher . Bernie Sanders at the Peoples Summit Subscribe! This is the conclusion of a speech Sen . Bernie Sanders gave at women stood up. They went on hunger strikes. They went to The Gainesville Iguana the Peoples Summit in early June . This is from a transcript by jail. And they said, “Women in America”—and they stood What to pay attention to Democracy Now!, which was posted on July 3 along with the with their male allies. They said, “Women in America will not “Eight hours for work, eight hours for rest and eight hours for what you will .” is Gainesville's progressive video of the entire speech . See more at democracynow .org . continue to be second-class citizens.” newsletter and events calendar --This was the slogan of the Eight-Hour Day movement in ... I also know something about American history. And I know And 20 years ago, 25 years ago, no time at all, people who were May of 1886. Individuals: $15 that 150 years ago in this country, working people had no rights. gay, who were public with their sexuality, were humiliated, were (or more if you can) They were treated like animals. They were forced to work 12, beaten. But the gay community, and their straight allies, against Now personally I think that 8 hours for work is a few hours Low/No income: What you can 14 hours a day. Children of 10, 11 years of age were working in incredible pressure, stood up and said that in the United States per day longer than optimal, but we were then coming from Groups: $20 factories and losing their fingers. Kids were working in fields. of America, people will have the right to love whomever they a system of 10 and 12 hours (or more), so it was a great step Gainesville Iguana And workers 150 years ago stood up, under tremendous— want, regardless of their gender. in the right direction. What I want to focus on here is the with tremendous opposition against them. And they said to P .O . Box 14712 Now, I’ve given you that brief overview of American history to “what you will” part, and the vast array of options open to their bosses—they said, “We are not animals. We’re not beasts Gainesville, FL 32604 make this simple point: Now is not the time to throw your hands us in the here-and-now of 2017. And within that, moving of burden. We are human beings. We’re going to form trade up and say, “I’m giving up. I’m in despair. I’m burnt out.” beyond the social and familial responsibilities to the stuff Comments, suggestions, contributions unions.” And I thank the American trade union movement for all we choose to put in our heads, and what we do with our (written or financial) are welcome. To I want you to think about the incredibly brave heroes and heroines they have done. And my pledge to you is we will pass legislation non-sleep, non-work time. Joe Courter list your event or group, contact us at: making it easier for workers to form unions. in our history, against unbelievably daunting odds, who risked (352) 378-5655 their lives for social justice, for economic justice, for racial justice. And when we think about American history, we think about a The choices we have now are literally mind-boggling. Technology has given us the tools GainesvilleIguana@cox .net hundred years ago, 120 years ago, when African Americans, under Now, the fight that we are engaged in now is a tough one. No to see and hear almost anything that has ever been produced for human consumption. www .gainesvilleiguana .org the most outrageous conditions, stood up and fought for dignity. question about it. We are taking on an extremely powerful Music, movies, documentaries, cute and adorable animals, practical jokes, science, facebook .com/gainesvilleiguana And we will never know—never know—how many were beaten, billionaire class whose greed has destroyed the middle class of religion, games, porn, cartoons, car crashes, satellite weather, even satellite and street how many were lynched, how many were jailed in the fight for this country, whose greed says that it is not enough that the top views of our homes. Whatever you will. It is so seductive, and it is endless. The Iguana has been published basic human dignity. But we do know that over the years millions 1 percent today owns almost as much wealth as the bottom 90 monthly or bimonthly by volunteers of people, black and white and everybody else, stood together and percent. Not enough! They want it all. And what we are saying So what’s it done to us? I am sure there are many and varied studies, and this is not for 30 years . Circulation for this said that we will end the scourge of racism in this country. today: We are going to stand up to that greed, to that recklessness, one. But I do think the lack of a common narrative in our collective lives has led us to issue is 4,500 . and tell the billionaire class that this nation belongs to all of us, this mess we are in where so many people are so lacking in a sense of community and And many of the children don’t know this, but a hundred Publisher: this democracy belongs to all of us. And when we stand together, so alienated from politics, that many people have chosen to simply tune out, or to just years ago today, women in America did not have the right to Joe Courter when we stand together and not allow demagogues to divide us assemble a world view around a simple slogan or belief system, find a comforting tribe vote, did not have the right to do the jobs, to get the education to join and say, that’s good enough. Editors Emeritus: they wanted to have—a hundred years ago, no time at all. But up by the color of our skin or the country we came from or our sexual orientation or our gender, when we stand together, there Jenny Brown is nothing that will stop us! Thank you all very much! D The trouble is, the door has been opened to a gang of people who have a very well Mark Piotrowski organized agenda, and a powerful belief system that they are convinced is correct. Beginning in the ’70s and ’80s, the wealthy elites of this country found a willing Editorial Board: partner with evangelical Christians, and the combination of newly created right- Pierce Butler wing/libertarian think-tanks, the blossoming of right-wing talk radio and television Joe Courter ministries, and the expansion of cable television gave them the tools to challenge the Beth Grobman growing tide of social justice, human rights, and science-based environmental policies. Jessica Newman Capitalizing on the fact that the elected leaders on the Left tend toward compromise, Production work & assistance: the Right has smashed the union movement to a shadow of itself and rewritten the rules Joye Barnes of high finance to allow even more wealth to flow to the top. (See Editors’ Picks on Sarah Goff page 24 for a longer piece on “Mike Pence as the Messiah.”) Sheila Payne Julie Thayer The Right has been playing the long game. Knowing the Democratic base tends to vote Carolyn Salt less in non-presidential years, they put huge effort to win in 2010 (a census year), and in doing so were able to redraw voting districts to favor themselves.

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